2. Be sure to know which operating system you have. this IS NOT the version of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.) you have.

3. Be ready to tell what applications and what versions you are using.

4. WRITE DOWN any error messages you may get.  Just saying you got an error will not be enough.

5. know exactly what you were doing when the problem started.

6. have ready a list of things you have changed on you PC in the last week (at least).  This includes all new applications you have installed or upgraded.

7. Be in front of the computer when you call.

 Here are some simple tips that can save you a lot of headaches and a lot of money!!!

Just Take a deep breath…. Think about what you’re
doing… and most of all…

DON’T PANIC!

These are in no particular order:

1. Understand that a PC is NOT a magic box.

2. Reboot!

3. Read the documentation

4. Read everything on the screen.

5 Read the HELP File.

6. Check all the cables.

7. Check How much Disk Space is available. (commonly mistaken for memory).

8. Know if your machine is compatible.

9. Purchase antivirus software.

1. Understand that a PC is NOT a magic box.

Just because the movies show computers that can carry on a conversation, take you to a special effect “cyber-world” and can solve everyone’s problems… please understand that they are just machines.  Justlike your car, microwave and stereo they are just tools that we use to do a certain task.  They cannot do anything that you do not know how to make them do.  If you think that by just getting a computer your checking account will now always balance out and your bills will always get paid on time then I have some swamp land in Florida to talk to you about!  You did not know how to drive just because you bought a car, you wont know how to fly if you buy a plane, and you won’t be able to make super cool home videos and mix your own CDs just because you buy a PC.  You must learn how to do this.  And that extremely dumb box you paid all that money for will not show you how no matter how much you beg…

Reboot!

Over 80% of ALL PC issues can be solved by simply rebooting the machine. WHY?  Just because!  Accept it.  You don’t know why popcorn pops….

Actually what happens is when you open and shut programs on your Windows PC, the computer does not always give you back all the resources (disk space, memory, etc.) that it took.  After a while the PC will actually run out of resources.  And sometimes the programs on your PC will start fighting for resources.  Then you shut your computer down it releases those resources.  Sometimes your PC just gets confused. and rebooting “resets” the configuration in Windows.  It can be annoying, especially on older machines, but if you are doing some serious work involving several applications you may need to reboot twice in one day.

Read the documentation

“When All Else Fails, Read The Instructions.”  This is a real no-brainer, but this can save you from having to call tech support.

Read Everything
On The Screen

This is extremely important if you are browsing the internet.  A lot of people get a pop up message on their screen, just click “OK” “Yes” or even the opposite without reading what it says.   This is very dangerous.  If a message comes up asking if you want to install the latest porn downloader, and you just click “Yes” to make it go way – guess what – you are now downloading porn and not even realizing it.  It’s one thing if this is your goal for the day,  but an entirely different thing if you loose your job, girlfriend or spouse because you now have dirty pictures all over your PC.  Take the time to read everything you see before you just click on it and worry about it later.

Read The Help File

Most technicians that get asked to do something in a particular application will simply do one of three things.  One – they already know how. Two – they will read the help file.  Three – they will look it up on Google.  Usually the tech does not know any more about what you are asking than you do when you first ask.  However, most of the answers can be found by simply click on Help and the searching the help files.  It can be a bother to do.  But you doing it can be a lot cheaper than paying somebody else by the hour to read the same file.

Check All The Cables

OK, here is the way it is.  I HATE charging people for an hour of work when the only reason their printer is not working is because it is not plugged in.  I have had to do this on a number of occasions, and do charge…. but I feel really bad for the person who has to pay.  Please make sure all the cable are connected and plugged in before you call.  I really don’t want your money that bad.

Check
How much Disk Space is available.

Double click on My Computer.  Right click on the C: drive and then click on properties.  This will show you how big the total drive is, how much space is being used and how much space is free.  You should never have less than 15% of your total drive free.  And this should not really be less than 250 megs unless it’s a real old PC with a very small hard drive.  If you run totally out of space your PC will run slow, quit responding and may not be able to boot up.  Remove any files and programs that you do not need to clean up space, and usually deleting e-mails and a few documents is not enough.  If you don’t know how to do this, find out… it’s not hard.

By the way, if you want to know how much memory (RAM) you have… right click on My Computer and click on properties.  You will see the total at the bottom of the window.

Know if
your machine is compatible.

Every application that you can buy for your computer has on it (or the web page if you are downloading it) what the minimum requirements to run it are.  Make sure your PC is up to the task before you buy it.  Not every computer can run every piece of software.

Purchase antivirus
software.

For the love of all that’s good a precious BUY AN ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM.  This will usually cost around $45.  The average time it takes to clean a virus infected computer up is 4 hours.  Spend a little now and save a lot later.  Make sure that it is kept up to date.  Generally virus programs should be updated once a week.  When you buy the software you will probably get free updates for a year.  After that time you will have to pay to renew you subscription for the following year.  These updates keep you protected from all the new viruses that come out.  If you let your subscription expire you will not be protected from the new stuff.  You will want to get a good antivirus software, not some freebie application you find on the internet.  The different brands of antivirus all tend to be better than others some weeks, while the competition is better the next week.  The big names are McAfee, Norton, Panda and Trend Micro.  There are others, and the choose is strictly up to you and what your needs are.  Whatever you decide, do something!   ]]> http://cartersvillecomputercare.com/techblog/?feed=rss2&p=24 0 http://cartersvillecomputercare.com/techblog/?p=20 http://cartersvillecomputercare.com/techblog/?p=20#comments Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:30:02 +0000 7ater http://cartersvillecomputercare.com/techblog/?p=20

Let me state up front that I am not a MySpace power user.  I actually do not use it that much.  I only opened an account because a friend of mine got married and joined the military.  He was stationed in Virginia.  He started posting pictures on MySpace and I could only access them if I had an account.  I have since found old friends that I had lost contact with and am able to keep up with other friends and family through this portal.

When you set up an account you give some personal information.  The information you give is:
Email Address
Password (that you create)
First Name
Last Name
Country
State
Postal code
Birthday
Gender
You can, of course, lie about all of this except the email address.  You will be sent an email that will have a link to click on to verify your identity.  Be aware that this can be a yahoo or hotmail account.  So, as you see, people CAN lie about who they are.  For this example we are going to assume you are telling the truth.

After you set up your site you can give as much or as little information about yourself as you like.  You can also set up your profile so that it can only be viewed by other members of MySpace.  Another feature that I like is you can set up the account so people who “friend” you will have to actually know you – but more of that later.  Then you set up a “name” that you can point other people to.   Mine is 7ater.  So my page is www.myspace.com/7ater

I’m going to go over what is on myspace step by step.  You are welcome to go to my site to look at it, but I am also going to present screenshots if you would prefer not to go.  There are two different sides of MySpace, the side you see when you log in and the public side.  First we will look at the public side.

myspace1.jpg

At the top you will see a banner add.  From a tech point of view this is a very dangerous thing.  MySpace sells this ad space to other companies.  These ads can download harmful malware to your PC, especially if you click on it.   Beware of these ads.

Then you will see the picture the person has used to identify themselves.  MySpace tries to keep improper pictures off its site, but sometimes things you would not like to see can be posted.  You may not particularly like mine. 

Under that you will see links to that person’s pics and videos.  These are things the person would like to share with others.  I have seen spam sites set up where these links will redirect to other adult sites.  These are usually taken down quickly by MySpace.

Next you will see the communication box.  Here you can send a message to this person, request that they become one of your “friends”, IM (Instant Message) them and several other things.  You will have to log onto MySpace to do these.

If you decide to make a person your “friend” and click on this link it will ask you if you are sure you want to make them your friend.  This will send a message to the other user informing them of your request.  The other person can accept or deny your request.  If they accept then you will appear on their friends list and they will appear on yours.  If the person has set it up you will be asked a person detail about the person to insure you actually know them.  This is usually something like their last name or email address.  I have mine set up where anyone can request to be my friend.  This is dangerous as I have gotten lots of request from young attractive girls who I don’t know.  When you go to their site they will invite me to visit their “other’ page that shows pictures MySpace does not allow.  You have the ability to report them as spam if this is the case.

In the upper right corner you will see blog entries.  This will be similar to what you are seeing now, just ramblings of the person and what they feel is important enough for everybody else to read.   People use this in a number of ways.  Bands will give updates on their tours or upcoming albums.  People will update everybody on what they are doing or important events.  A lot of people use this for those “forwards” like you get in email, you know… the ones where you have to repost them or you will suffer some awful fate, but if you do then you will meet the love of your life.  Some people do not realize that when you post here everyone in your friends list can see this post when they log in…..

From here the layout is different on everybody’s page.  I have a webpage and a blog (or two), so I don’t really put a lot here.  There is a place called “About Me” where people put whatever information about themselves they want here.  Some people will put quite a lot here.  I choose to just put a Twitter applet here, it updates whenever I put something on Twitter (Twitter is another device that can be use to communicate to others).  Then you have a place to put “Who I’d Like to Meet.”  This is a place for people to describe who you are looking to meet out there in cyberspace.  This is handy for people looking for new friends or relationships.  I personally have put a Dilbert widget here.  I am not really a sociable person, so this is actually who I’d like to meet.

Then you can embed all kinds of video and audio into your page.  Most people will have the music they embed start when the page opens, so if you’re offended by any type of music you may want to mute your speakers.

myspace2.jpg

You will see in this picture- that there is a place for more personal information.  This is all voluntary and you put as much or as little as you wish.  Again – there is nothing keeping people from putting false information here – so beware.  You can also add apps or other “cute” stuff on your page.  I have where you can play Duck hunt online.

 myspace3.jpg

You will see in this picture- that there is a place for more personal information.  This is all voluntary and you put as much or as little as you wish.  Again – there is nothing keeping people from putting false information here – so beware.  You can also add apps or other “cute” stuff on your page.  I have where you can play Duck hunt online.

myspace4.jpg

Here is a list of comments others will leave for you.  You can delete any comments that you would not like on your site.

———————————–

Now let’s look at what MySpace looks like when you log in

myspacep1.jpg

Again you will see ads at the top as well as all along the side.  The same thing applies here, you click on it and you can compromise your PC.  There are links to other parts of Myspace like TV and video shows.  You can also customize your account, but we will not go into all of that. 

You will see your friends status.  Here your friends can let you know what kind of mood their in and post a brief blurb about what’s going on in their life.

You will also see the control panel to the left side.  This can be used very similar to an e-mail system, but you can only communicate with other MySpace users.  You can also maintain you account settings as well as maintain a calendar and address book.  Then there are a list of other things you can do like play games, watch shows, look for jobs.  And on and on and on.

myspacep2.jpg

In the center you can see you friend subscriptions.  These are people you choose that you want to be updated when they do something on their page Like add pictures or music.  You will only see the ones you choose.

myspacep3.jpg

To the right you will see a little applet where you can click and see some internet videos.  There are a bunch of different kinds here, but they are generally no worse than PG-13 Underneath you have a spot for friends bulletins.  This is where people put tings they want everyone on their friends list to read.  Again these can be those “forwards” that tell you what your name means or a cute story about a poor boy who buys his mother some shoes.  They can also be request for help (like a home work assignment) or announcements for upcoming events.  myspacep4.jpgAt the bottom is your friend space.  You can see as many or as few as you want.  You can arrange them in whatever order you like, usually your closest friends are at the top.
And that is what MySpace looks like.  Is it evil?  Not really.  Can it be dangerous?  Definitely!  The problems I usually see as a tech is people clicking on the cute ads slapping the monkey or shooting the ninja.  You will not get a free iPod, but you will get malware on your machine.  I’ve seen very nasty things posted about other people and this can be devastating for a young person.  And it is very very possible for predators to make contact with children and teens through MySpace.  It is mostly unregulated and children as well as adults can get in to trouble here as well as any social website.  However, if used with common sense and caution it can be a fun as well useful utility.

As I have said before and I will say it again, the best way to keep you children safe on the internet is to be involved in what they are doing.  If your child has a MySpace, facebook or any other account in a social network make sure that you have their logon information so you can see what they are doing.  A real good thing to do is get your own account and make the child your friend.  Then you can monitor when the make updates.  However, you can only see their private communications if you log in as them.  It’s much like giving them the keys to the car – do you trust them?  They may be good kids, but they may not be ready yet for the responsibility.  But then again it may be time to let them drive themselves around.  Parents have to make the decision themselves.

My answer every time I am asked this I give this same short answer:

Never let your child access the internet without supervision.

The best way to do this is to have your computer in the room that is most used by the family, like a living room or den. You don’t really have to look over their shoulder and watch everything they do, just be in the same room so that there is a chance you will glance up and see what is on their screen.

For full disclosure I must state that I have no kids of my own. I have always worked with children in churches and other groups. Usually being the computer guy with lots of games and toys and no kids of my own the tweens and teens will confide in me and my wife. We are not judgmental, and we generally don’t tell on the kids unless there is clear and present danger involved. However, we do know that these not-yet-adults should not be trusted on their own with things like a loaded gun, mind altering drugs and the internet.

Do I think your little precious is a bad kid? No. Do I think they are going to try to do bad things behind your back? I hope not. Do I think that a child playing with fire will eventually get burned? Uh, yeah!

Children are curious and when they find a way to see or learn new things, especially forbidden things, they most likely will. Most every man can tell you of the time either he, or a friend, found their fathers Playboy Magazines. Did they look away and say “my mom wouldn’t like me looking at that?” No. In my house it was Easy Rider Magazine. They just had the naked women on motorcycles. I stole and read everyone I could get away with.

You may say that’s a part of growing up, and it’s healthy. You may be right. However, I wish I could take you to the sites on the World Wide Web I have come across. A lot of this behavior is not natural. It’s not just kids seeing naked people and giggling, it’s a lot worse. I really wish I could post a link to some of this, but I really don’t want you to see this garbage.

Anyway, I have to lower my blood pressure now. Simply DO NOT allow your child (even if they are 17 and mature for their age) to surf the internet alone in their room. I will rant about the next item in another post… then get to some advice that you might actually use.

-7ater

Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s informed consent. It is a portmanteau of the words “malicious” and “software”. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.

In other words; it is stuff on your computer that you don’t want and that can make your life miserable.

I am often amazed in these times how many computers I sit down to that have absolutely NO protection from the poo-poo that you can get from the internet. I try not to lecture people about going to websites that are bad or downloading whatever, but if you’re going to play in the places that can do your computer harm PLEASE take something to protect you.

Many, many people will say they have virus protection, but I’ll look and see that their subscription ran out a year ago. Let me explain how an antivirus application works:

1.A bad guy writes a program that is harmful to your computer.
2.They release it to the world, usually through the internet or e-mail.
3.Somebody gets the virus on their computer (usually several people).
4.The virus gets reported to the people who write the antivirus software.
5.The Antivirus software people write code for their product that looks for and protects you from this virus.
6.The Antivirus people put their code up on their server for you to download.
7.Your machine downloads the code from the server.
8.Your computer is protected from the Malware.

Understand that the time between steps 6 and 7 can sometimes be a whole week. The time between steps 2 and 3 can be a lot longer. So until you actually get to step 8 you are NOT protected. And if you are not currently getting updates for your antivirus program you will never make it to step 7. You must realize that there is a period of time with any virus that you are not protected, and if you do not have an updated program you are NEVER protected.

Scared? Good!

So what should you do about it? The best defense is safe computing practices, but I’ll save that for another post. Mainly, get an antivirus program. Secondly, make sure it is getting updates regularly. I cannot recommend one program over another because they are constantly changing. One week one is better and the next week another one is better. Of the ones I have used and feel confident with are (in no particular order):

Symantec (Norton) (www.symantec.com)
McAfee (www.mcafee.com)
Panda (www.pandasecurity.com)
Tend Micro (www.trendmicro.com)
AVG (www.grisoft.com)

There are probably others, but like I say – these are the ones I personally have had good experiences with. Another one that I have heard a lot of good things about is NOD32 (www.eset.com), but I haven’t had a chance to use this yet.

If you are trying to find one that works for you shop around. See what prices work for you, and most of them will allow you a trial period. If you download a trial remember two very important things: 1) When the trial runs out you must pay for a subscription to continue to get updates 2) If you install a different antivirus program be sure to uninstall the old one first. It’s a good rule to never have more than one antivirus program installed on one computer.

If you are squirming about paying for software you don’t want to have to buy check out AVG. They have a free version. There does not seem to be any catch to this and I have installed it on many machines. It is a basic antivirus application. It scans files as you access them, scan e-mails and does a complete scan every day. One thing I really like about this program is it updates every day instead of once a week.

Other tools that can help remove malware from your machine are AdAware (www.lavasoftusa.com) and SpyBot (www.spybot.info). Spybot is totally free and AdAware has a free version for personal use. Both of these programs will scan your system for potentially harmful or annoying programs. You will have to update and run these manually. In other words just installing them on your machine does absolutely nothing. You have to run the application, get the latest updates, run the scan and remove the problems.

IMPORTANT! I only recommend these two programs, and you MUST get them from the websites above. There are other applications that have the same or similar names. Most of these are phonies and actually install malware on your machine. Do NOT install a spyware program that you find on the internet unless you are ABSOLUTLY sure of what it is and what it will do. You are doing more harm than good by installing unknown spyware, antivirus, malware, registry cleaner or whatever. Just because it says it is going to fix your problems does not mean it will. Have I made this clear? I don’t know what else to say about this….

Another application that has to be mentioned is Windows Defender (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx). This is Microsoft’s antispyware application. It is free. I do believe it is good and worth installing, but it’s one of those applications like Malicious Software Removal Tool that seems to be working, but I can never verify that it is or it’s not. The price is right, but I wouldn’t rely on this solely.

So, you are probably reading this because I sent you to it. Right now look at your machine and see if you have any antivirus program running. If you do check that the definitions are up to date – no more that 7 days old. If you need to update, do so. If you need to renew your subscriptions, do so. If you don’t know what to do, then call a computer guy to help you. I’ll be glad to help if you are in my area. If you are somewhere else then I’m sure you can find a geek out there that will help you out.

Just be safe!
-7ater